Ethical Athlete

My name is Jonathan Bean and I am the founder (for want of a better title) of Ethical Athlete.  I grew up on the Isle of Wight, but now live in Southampton, in the UK.  I’ve never been much good at team sports or racquet sports so haven’t really bothered with them.  Instead, when I was at school I did a lot of sailing (mostly dinghy racing), a fair bit of surfing, and cycled everywhere.  Now I’m a “grown up” I rarely get the chance to go sailing, haven’t surfed in years, and don’t usemy bike as much as I would like to.  My sport of choice now, is running.

I started running as a means of losing a little post-university fat and soon became addicted.  Despite never enjoying school cross country runs, I now actively seek out training routes and events that allow me to explore both my own limits and the world around me.  I’ve raced at distances from 5 km to 70 miles (albeit over two days), and have achieved a “good for age” qualifying time for the London Marathon.  I’m far from being as quick as I’d like, but I am very enthusiastic.

Politically, I lean to the left.  I like to think that this is a result of studying History at university, but in reality I’ve always been that way inclined.  I don’t want to get into heavy political discourse, but to summarise:  I believe in fairness, equality and social justice; and the protection of our natural environment.

As much as I like to try, it is not always possible to combine my ethics with my athletics.

In most areas of my life I ensure that I use public transport, eat organically, buy fair-trade and take care to reduce, reuse and recycle what I consume.  This isn’t always possible, but I do try.  The principal area where my principles become compromised is with regard to running.  I wear clothes made out of petrochemicals by workers in sweatshops, I drive or fly to races, and I eat and drink products made out of artificial ingredients by multinational corporations.  But I am determined to change this situation.

Perfection does not exist, but that doesn’t mean that you should not try your hardest to be the best that you can be.  This is true of both sport and life.  I am not the ideal ethical athlete of this site’s title, rather the name is meant as a reminder of an ideal.

So to chronicle my personal journey to improve my own habits, I write and edit articles, reviews and features on ways that the sporting consumer can spend their money and not compromise their principles.  Healthy debate will be welcomed and rather than tell people what to do, the intention is that Ethical Athlete will allow its readers to make their own, informed decisions.  Armed with clear, detailed information it becomes easier for all of us to make choices that will minimise our negative impact on our planet and society.